Smoked Sausage and Cabbage Skillet
Browned smoked sausage coins and buttery cabbage cooked with onion, paprika and a splash of vinegar. A cheap, filling one-skillet dinner in 30 minutes.
- Prep10 min
- Cook20 min
- Total30 min
- Servings4
- Net carbs*6.9 g
- LevelEasy
This skillet is farmhouse cooking at its simplest. Coins of smoked sausage brown in a hot pan, then cabbage and onion cook in the rendered fat with butter and smoked paprika until sweet and golden at the edges. A splash of cider vinegar at the end brightens the whole pan. It costs little, feeds four, and leaves only one skillet to wash.
Brown the sausage first and take it out of the pan. The fat it leaves behind is full of smoky flavor, and the cabbage soaks it up as it cooks. Let the cabbage sit untouched for a minute or two between stirs so some pieces char. Those dark edges are where most of the flavor comes from.
Ingredients
Makes About 6 cups. Tap an item to check it off.
Equipment
- 12-inch skillet with lid
- Cutting board and chef's knife
- Wooden spoon
Instructions
- Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage coins in one layer and cook 2 to 3 minutes per side, until browned. Move to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan.
- Add the butter and onion to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until the onion softens, about 3 minutes.
- Add the cabbage, salt, pepper and paprika and toss to coat in the fat.
- Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes, until the cabbage is tender and browned in spots. If it starts to scorch, add 2 tablespoons of water and lower the heat.
- Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute. Return the sausage to the pan, cover, and heat through for 2 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, stir in the vinegar, and top with parsley before serving.
Estimated nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 398
- Total carbs
- 10.4 g
- Fiber
- 3.5 g
- Net carbs
- 6.9 g
- Protein
- 13.8 g
- Fat
- 33.9 g
*These are estimates, calculated from the ingredient weights above and USDA FoodData Central data, divided by 4 servings. Net carbs = total carbs minus fiber. Values vary with brands, quantities, ingredient swaps and how you portion the dish. How we estimate nutrition.
Kitchen tips
- Read the sausage label. Some brands add sugar or corn syrup, which raises the carbs.
- Cut the cabbage into wide pieces rather than thin shreds so it browns instead of turning limp.
Substitutions
- Smoked sausage → kielbasa Same weight. Garlicky and a little leaner. Check the label for added sugar.
- Green cabbage → red cabbage Same weight. Colorful but bleeds purple. Adds about 1 g net carbs per serving.
- Smoked paprika → caraway seeds 1 teaspoon. Gives the dish a German-style flavor.
Swaps change the nutrition estimate shown above.
Storage and reheating
- Fridge
- Airtight container, up to 4 days.
- Freezer
- Freeze up to 2 months. The cabbage gets softer after thawing but tastes fine.
- Reheat
- Warm in a skillet over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, or microwave covered for about 2 minutes.
Questions cooks ask
Does smoked sausage need to be cooked?
Most smoked sausage is sold fully cooked, so you are browning it for flavor and heating it through. Check the package to be sure.
